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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Doctor Redux

I don't know why I feel the necessity to blog about personal matters such as today's, but I guess I'd be doing my blog a disservice if I failed to note every traumatic event in my life. Thus, I present to you yet one more example of too much information. I apologize in advance.

Oh, and in case you missed it, this one is filed under "Girly Stuff." Guys might want to stop reading now. Stop. I mean it. (Okay, you're probably still reading, but at least you were warned.)

After my horrible doctor's visit in July for a womanly-bits infection that resulted in a nasty e-mail to the doctor's supervisor and an emotionally scarred me, I vowed I'd never return to that doctor's office. This morning, I realized I'd have to go see a doctor for another infection. Oh joy. I was thrilled. But, stubborn me, I put off going until lunchtime. Instead of going to Albany, though, I chose to go to Immediate Care at the Corvallis Clinic. I was able to see a female doctor who actually talked to me in complete sentences, a very friendly receptionist, and the sweetest pharmacist. How different can two experiences be?

-Albany: I'd been going there for ten years, yet they did not have a file with my name on it. They had no record of me existing. Corvallis: still had my old records dating back to my birth at Good Sam almost twenty-five years ago.

-Albany: half-hour drive, hour-long wait, six forms to fill out, another hour of waiting, half-hour drive to pharmacy, another half-hour of waiting, and the drive home. Corvallis: five-minute drive, ten-minute wait, one form, five-minutes at the pharmacy.

-Albany: scary receptionist with tattoos on her face and a smoker's cough that made me speak loudly and specifically about every problem I'd ever had. Corvallis: super-cool receptionist concerned about privacy and not specifics (she even shredded the paper I'd written my SSN on in front of me).

-Albany: mean, mean doctor. Corvallis: gentle, friendly, communicative doctor who had patience and time for me.

-Albany: pharmacy closed. Corvallis: pharmacy open and just down the hallway, staffed by informed people who knew their stuff.

No matter my physical outcome (I'm fine, by the way), I am pleased that nice doctors exist and that I was able to find one. Now can anyone tell me how to get the icky hospital soap smell off my hands?

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